Biodiversity Hotspot criterion

A region must meet the following two strict criteria to qualify as biodiversity hotspot :

1. it must contain at least 0.5% or 1,500 species of vascular plants as endemics, and
2. it has to have lost at least 70% of its primary vegetation.

Around the world, at least 25 areas qualify under this definition, with nine others possible candidates. These sites support nearly 60% of the world's plant, bird, mammal, reptile, and amphibian species, with a very high share of endemic species.